NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 143: [143] Staring
His body was disintegrating.
The rational part of Makoto's will clearly registered the process.
This wasn't an exaggerated metaphor or an overreaction to pain.
From his hair to his fingertips, to his palms, wrists, and arms, every part was cracking and crumbling from the outside in, fragmenting into shards within the rising reishi stream.
At first, Makoto could still feel the sensation called 'pain.'
But when a tidal wave of sensations, numbness, itching, pain, nausea, convulsions, exhilaration, surged into his brain all at once, pain ceased to stand out.
In such a state, the passage of time and the movement of space became faint.
The moment all sensations flooded his mind, all perception became void.
Every second stretched into eternity.
Touch was the first to go, followed by smell and taste, which vanished unnoticed. The loss of hearing dulled his balance and awareness of his surroundings.
Until his vision faded to nothing.
How long had passed?
The endless black night abruptly dissipated.
…
Huff,
A long exhalation rang in his ears.
In an instant, a flood of information poured into his sealed, void-like perception, leaving him dazed, standing motionless, unsure of his purpose.
It took a while for him to slowly unearth memories buried deep in his soul.
Katori watched him from a distance, her pupils sharply constricted behind plain, thick glasses.
The ground where Makoto stood had become a massive crater, dozens of meters deep, centered around him.
It resembled the impact site of a small asteroid, with only the small patch beneath his feet remaining, standing alone in the crater's center like a solitary pillar piercing the sky.
Under the intense reishi stream, the sky-textured ceiling of the underground space had been blasted open around Makoto, piercing through to the research institute above.
Faint sunlight trickled down.
Standing atop the pillar, Makoto slowly lifted his eyelids, exhaling a sword-like stream of blazing white breath.
A kaleidoscope of colors reflected in his mirror-clear pupils.
"Ara ara…"
The metallic wheels of Senjumaru's chair rolled over the stone-strewn ground, clattering as she glided toward Katori, letting out a low sigh, part dissatisfaction, part resigned expectation.
"Makoto-kun."
"I warned you, didn't I?"
"This is a private space. Don't make too much noise."
The elegant woman spoke with gentle reproach, clearly scolding but as if she had no real way to deal with him.
When her chair stopped beside Katori, she glanced forward.
Her skeletal hand instinctively covered her red lips.
Her pupils, too, sharply constricted.
"Ara?!"
Exactly like Katori.
Makoto slowly turned his head, his movements slightly stiff from the recent 'disintegration.'
He was puzzled.
A sudden breeze brushed past, a chill hitting his backside, and he froze.
His hands scrambled to cover himself.
"Hey!"
"Have you seen enough?!"
"If you're done, get me some clothes already!"
Makoto shouted, frantic.
Very urgent.
Senjumaru, still in shock, extended two skeletal hands, gesturing in the air, muttering to Katori beside her. "You saw it too?"
"About this long, right?"
Her skeletal hands traced a length in the air.
Katori nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes!"
"Like a tail growing in front."
"I thought I was seeing things."
Senjumaru's expression grew grave, her brows furrowing tightly. "Highly dangerous."
Katori nodded emphatically. "As expected of Makoto-kun."
Senjumaru looked equally approving. "Truly Makoto-kun!"
Makoto stood there, eyes wide.
Can you at least discuss your thoughts behind my back?
Then, his zanpakuto's voice, urgent and annoyed, rang out.
[Wah!]
[Seen completely by Katori and Senjumaru!]
[Now we've got no choice but to take them all down.]
[Makoto, unleash the feast of wine and flesh!]
Makoto, facing two unflinching women staring straight at him, his face darkened. "Shut up!"
This world was absurd.
Among the founding female captains, was Saito-chan the only one capable of blushing?!
…
Only after Senjumaru-san had 'appreciated' enough did she mercifully bestow upon Makoto a freshly sewn shihakusho.
The cost? A full-body measurement.
Once dressed, the ethereal feeling from his awakening faded, grounding him firmly in reality.
Makoto's gaze toward Senjumaru carried a hint of playful resentment, like a wronged spouse.
A garment sewn in two seconds had nearly scrubbed his skin raw with those skeletal hands.
Still.
Standing in place, he shook out the loose sleeves of his shihakusho.
The black garb hugged his lean frame, accentuating his form subtly. His dark hair hung loose, tied casually with a ribbon, a wakizashi at his waist.
A sense of clarity radiated from him, inside and out.
As if his soul itself had been purified, except for that pesky zanpakuto.
Katori appeared at his side, her small hand gently pinching the flesh of his arm.
"It really all regenerated."
"It was completely shattered just moments ago, wasn't it?"
She looked up, meeting his eyes. "Is this one of Makoto-kun's abilities too?"
"Why haven't I seen it before?"
"Let's call it… a trump card."
Makoto glanced at his palm.
He wasn't entirely sure himself.
Or rather, this was his first time undergoing a complete 'reconstruction' of his being.
The sensation was utterly unlike the system's previous direct Reiatsu boosts.
Even he couldn't quite gauge his current strength.
The only proof of his power lay in the panel's data, perhaps?
He thought, pulling up his personal panel.
[Reiatsu: Upper Tier-2]
[Talent Points: 0]
He'd burned through every last reserve in one go.
But…
Just how far could he go?
His hand slowly clenched.
Sensing his eagerness, Katori smiled at him, her eyes glinting behind plain, thick glasses. "Wanna test it?"
Makoto turned to her.
Senjumaru, watching their familiar exchange, rolled her chair back with a clatter, retreating. These barbarians…
The thought had barely formed when,
Clang!
A silver arc flashed, too swift for the naked eye.
Makoto's hand grazed his hilt, casually sidestepping, drawing his blade halfway.
The blades clashed, buzzing under immense force.
He continued drawing the blade from its sheath, inch by inch.
Metal scraped metal, each fraction drawn sparking crimson embers from the edge.
Unstoppable.
Until the blade was fully unsheathed.
Katori watched, her flat lips curling into an excited grin.
Boom!
Reiatsu collided, air swirling.
The surging airflow twisted between them, the mere pressure enough to choke ordinary low-ranking officers.
For these two, it was just a warm-up.
Makoto stepped forward, his foot cracking the ground into a web of fissures, his force slightly surpassing his opponent's.
Katori faltered.
Then, an even mightier force surged from their clashing blades, crashing toward her like a landslide, irresistible.
Utterly unstoppable!
[Sometimes, it's not an alarm that wakes a girl, but the jolt before dawn!]
[Zanjutsu +1]
The blade swept through, its searing shockwave like a white tidal wave, surging unstoppably across the rubble-strewn ground.
Katori was hurled back by the force, her petite frame tumbling through the air, her feet kicking, leaving a trail of sonic booms.
The usual playful glint in her eyes, framed by plain glasses, hardened with focus.
"Stand firm in flame, forsake all evil."
"Kurikara!"
Her wakizashi, wreathed in black hellfire, transformed in a fierce reiatsu reaction into a naginata over eight feet long.
Her gaze, now heavy with gravity, locked onto her opponent.
Makoto stood unmoved, wakizashi in hand.
His eyes reflected his panel.
[Four Arts:
[Zanjutsu: Tier-14 (29/100)]
[Hakuda: Tier-12 (19/100)]
[Kido: Tier-11 (12/100)]
[Hoho: Tier-14 (33/100)]
Even at Tier-5 or 6 Reiatsu, he'd fought countless battles above his level.
Against Chika, Szayelaporro, or even Unohana, he'd always aimed to overcome the strong as the weak.
Ordinary peers were no match for him.
So, now that his strength had been elevated to the near-pinnacle of the Soul Society's 'Tier-2 Reiatsu'…
Could he still dominate foes of the same tier?
Pondering, he swung his blade to the side.
Buzz!
The air stilled for a moment, filled only with a low, white-noise hum.
Then, vast swathes of earth and stone lifted weightlessly in the direction of his swing, shattering into boundless dust, carving a long trench.
Rumble!
The deafening tremor followed.
Makoto turned, facing Katori.
She met his gaze, equally focused.
That single strike had proven it.
Makoto was a worthy opponent on her stage.
But as she stared intently, his figure vanished from her cold, steely gaze.
"Hm?!"
Before her eyes could track him, her senses and instincts screamed a 'danger' far stronger than any visual cue.
Instinctively, she swung her naginata toward the threat.
Clang!
The heavy clash of metal shook her eardrums.
Her straw sandals sank into the fragile ground, shattering stones, dust streaming far under the surging airflow.
The naginata and wakizashi clashed and parted.
Katori's pale hands spun the golden pole, deflecting force, her blade tracing sharp arcs, striking at Makoto in relentless waves.
Every angle of her naginata, every curve of her pole's dance, showcased her mastery honed over years.
Yet despite this,
Crack!
Crack!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Her sandals retreated, each step blasting craters into the ground.
She struck long against short, fast against slow.
Yet Makoto swung his wakizashi with seeming ease, advancing step by step.
Each swing targeted the pivot of her next move.
Such speed! Such power! Such precision!
Katori's eyes grew brighter, though her expression remained cold.
But if this was all…
Clang!
Her naginata tilted diagonally, blocked by the wakizashi. Her wrist twisted, her retreat halting.
Makoto paused.
The next moment,
Her toes curled in her tabi, force rising from the ground, surging through her waist and back, her arms thrusting forward irresistibly.
The naginata, locked with the wakizashi, seemed to extend, stabbing straight at his shoulder.
A spear like a dragon.
Shing!
The air erupted in a piercing stab.
Makoto twisted, narrowly dodging.
But Katori advanced, gripping the naginata vertically, leaping with a cold face, her blade slashing down.
Before she could land, Makoto snapped his fingers lightly.
"Can't move, huh?"
[Sokushinteigi!]
Katori's gaze froze, her body stiffening mid-swing, locked in place.
Her petite, rigid form fell naturally into Makoto's open arms.
Soft and warm, knocking him off balance.
Holding the 'immobile' Katori, he playfully nipped her ear. "That's for staring!"
"Eh?"
The frozen Katori's eyes widened.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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